not yet
twenty with the figure of a Falstaff and the complexion of a Rubens
Bacchus. That the German maiden can be fascinated with a face, cut and
gashed till it suggests having been made out of odd materials that never
could have fitted, is a proved fact. But surely there can be no
attraction about a blotched and bloated skin and a "bay window" thrown
out to an extent threatening to overbalance the whole structure. Yet
what else can be expected, when the youngster starts his beer-drinking
with a "Fruhschoppen" at 10 a.m., and closes it with a "Kneipe" at four
in the morning?

The Kneipe is what we should call a stag party, and can be very harmless
or very rowdy, according to its composition. One man invites his fellow-
students, a dozen or a hundred, to a cafe, and provides them with as much
beer and as many cheap cigars as their own sense of health and comfort
may dictate, or the host may be the Korps itself. Here, as everywhere,
you observe the German sense of discipline and order. As each new comer
enters all those sitting round the table rise, and with heels close
together salute. When the table is complete, a chairman is chosen, whose
duty it is to give out the number of the songs. Printed books of these
songs, one to each two men, lie round the table. The chairman gives out
number twenty-nine. "First verse," he cries, and away all go, each two
men holding a book between them exactly as two people might hold a hymn-
book in church. There is a pause at the end of each verse until the
chairman starts the company on the next. As every German is a trained
singer, and as most of them have fair voices, the general effect is
striking.

Although the manner may be suggestive of the singing of hymns in church,
the words of the songs are occasionally such as to correct this
impression. But whether it be a patriotic song, a sentimental ballad, or
a ditty of a nature that would shock the average young Englishman, all
are sung through with stern earnestness, without a laugh, without a false
note. At the end, the chairman calls "Prosit!" Everyone answers
"Prosit!" and the next moment every glass is empty. The pianist rises
and bows, and is bowed to in return; and then the Fraulein enters to
refill the glasses.

Between the songs, toasts are proposed and responded to; but there is
little cheering, and less laughter. Smiles and grave nods of approval
are considered as more seeming among German students.

A p